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"Bill was showing me some of those cars, it's incredible," Trump said. "I wanted to buy one, then I heard the price. I said forget it. I said I"ll use one on occasion. But what a car that is, huh? What a car."

Trump, in Ypsilanti to tour the Rawsonville Components Plant now making ventilators as part of the campaign to fight COVID-19, also highlighted the "Built Ford Tough" campaign and considered the idea of "Built Trump Tough."

Behind the scenes

Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., points to a collection of Ford GT vehicles while talking with President Donald Trump during his visit to the Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti on May 21, 2020. Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff, is standing in the middle.(Photo: Special to the Free Press.)

White House officials told the Ford team that the president recently saw the Hollywood blockbuster "Ford v Ferrari" and was interested in seeing the Ford GT cars. So Ford arranged to have three vehicles at the plant during the visit, one from the Le Mans era, one from 2005-06 and a 2020 GT, said Mark Truby, Ford chief communications officer.

Right when the president arrived at the plant, before any public events, Trump and Bill Ford Jr. talked about the race cars.

"Bill personally showed the president the GTs and was able to recount some stories about Ford at Le Mans and the development of the vehicles," said Truby, who was in earshot of the conversation

The president came in, Truby recalled. "The subject of a face mask came up. Bill said it would be great if you could wear one. Trump then retrieved one from his personal staff with a White House seal on it, and then they proceeded to visit."

Trump and Ford talked about the vehicles, about Le Mans and Ford returning to famous 24-hour race in France. He was intrigued by the 2020 Ford GT.

"At one point, the president asked how much one would be. ... It was just a fun moment," Truby said.

People can be on a waiting list for up to two years. Owners include movie stars, entrepreneurs and professional athletes including former Detroit Tiger Justin Verlander, now a pitcher with the Houston Astros.

Production is limited to just 1,350 vehicles, to be built between 2017 and 2022

For 2020, GT starts at just over $500,000. Customers may customize from there

The limited-edition GT Liquid Carbon model starts at approximately $750,000

For 2020, GT’s top speed is 217 mph and it has 660 horsepower

The body is entirely carbon fiber and powered by a 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine

"The current GT in a race car version won the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, 50 years after Ford swept 1-2-3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, becoming the first American car to do so," according to Ford. "This is what the movie Ford v Ferrari is based on."